1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a seat slider assembly for supporting a seat so as to be adjustable in its position in a forward or rearward direction of the seat.
2. Prior Art
Conventional seat slider assemblies heretofore known include a seat slider assembly as illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. In this seat slider assembly, a rail member c to be fixed to the seat (which is hereinafter referred to as a seat-rail member) is coupled with a rail member b to be fixed to a vehicle body (which is hereinafter referred to as a vehicle body-rail member) so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction of the rail members. The vehicle body-rail member b is provided with an engaging portion a. A bracket d fixed to the seat-rail member c has two curled portions e, e for pivotably bearing a shaft portion g of an operating lever f. A latch member h adapted to be selectively engaged with engaging holes of the engaging portion a is fixed to the shaft portion g of the operating lever f. The latch member h is fitted between the two curled bearing portions e, e. The operating lever f is operated to rotate the latch member h so that the latch member h is brought into engagement with the engaging portion a at a selected position for adjusting the position of the seat in the forward and rearward directions thereof.
The seat slider assembly of this type, however, requires adequate gaps 1, 1 between opposite end faces of the latch member h and inner end faces of the two curled bearing portions e, e, respectively, for allowing the latch member h to rotate smoothly. If the latch member h is tightly fitted between the inner end faces of the curled bearing portions e, e, a larger force is needed to operate the operating lever f for rotating the latch member h. If the gaps 1, 1 are too large, the latch member h is loose in the longitudinal direction. This will make shaking and rattling at a time of starting or stopping of the vehicle. To prevent the shaking and rattling, strict dimensional control is needed for the gaps 1, 1, which will increase a manufacturing cost.
This invention has been made with a view to obviating the problems involved in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a seat slider assembly which is capable of preventing the shaking and rattling without strict dimensional control for the gaps between the opposite end faces of the latch member and the respectively confronting inner end faces of the curled bearing portions formed on the bracket.